


fight the devil most of the days

by misskatieleigh



Series: fight the devil most of the days [1]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-04-13
Packaged: 2018-10-18 06:10:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10610889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misskatieleigh/pseuds/misskatieleigh
Summary: The Empire leaves scars on everyone. Some are just hard to see.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have not written anything in forever. Hopefully this doesn't suck. Constructive criticism always welcome. Title from "insane" by Judah and the Lion. 
> 
> Canonically, Bodhi is four years older than Wedge. In the Star Wars comics, young Wedge had a [ponytail](http://tosche-station.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/BoosterWedge.jpg). This is the mess that came out of those two thoughts rolling around in my brain. 
> 
> Rating may change in future chapters. The pick up line came from someone on tumblr, probably attackedastoria or softwedge, but I couldn't find it to give proper credit. If it was you, thanks!

In the early morning silence of the shuttle hangar the sound of someone struggling to breathe is jarring. Wedge picks up his pace across the duracrete floor, thoughts of a misplaced datapad pushed aside in favor of discovering the source of the aborted hiccuping gasps.

He calls out softly, mindful of the echo of his voice off the durasteel girders high above, “Hello? Are you alright?”

Near the wall, a metal container scrapes across the floor and topples, rolling to a stop a few feet away. Wedge jogs over, slowing as he comes upon a man tucked into the corner, half hidden by more of the same metal containers. The man’s face is pressed tightly against his knees, but Wedge recognizes the long, dark hair pulled into a haphazard ponytail.

“Bodhi? Are you hurt?”

Bodhi’s downturned head shakes almost violently, one hand coming up to tug at his ponytail. He’s practically wheezing at this point, breathing too fast and shallow to be healthy.

Wedge kneels on the floor next to Bodhi, reaching his hand out tentatively. “Bodhi, can you look at me? It’s just Wedge. No one else is here.” He tries to keep his voice calm, though his mind is racing through who he should call, who Bodhi will trust in this panicked state. He’s caught off guard when Bodhi actually listens to him, red rimmed eyes peering over his knees, though his fingers are now pulling roughly at his hair and his breathing still sounds just as frighteningly short.

Wedge brings his hand closer, wanting to pull Bodhi’s hand away before he does any lasting damage, but unsure of what Bodhi’s reaction to his touch will be.

“Hey, buddy… I just wanna help. Can you try to slow down your breathing?” Wedge exaggerates his breathing, filling his lungs and holding the breath for a moment before letting it out a few times. Bodhi watches, red-rimmed eyes tracking across Wedge’s face and down to the outstretching hand hovering between them.

Wedge can see Bodhi trying to match his breathing, shoulders rising on his inhale, but stuttering out too fast still. The hand in his hair is shaking. Deciding to try a different tactic, shifting from his knees to a sitting position, purposely leaving an opening for Bodhi so he's not trapped in the confined space. "Hey, d' you remember when we first met?"

Bodhi's lifts his face just enough to speak. "Y-yavin... A-after...." Wedge winces for a moment, cursing himself for bringing up something that would have been painful for Bodhi when he only meant to distract him. 

“No, I mean the _first_  time. At Skystrike.”

A crease forms between Bodhi’s eyebrows, his head tipping up to look at Wedge more directly. 

“W-what? Why would I have met you at an _Imperial Academy_?” 

He squints suddenly, his hand dropping from his hair to grasp Wedge’s shoulder. His breathing has evened out to a normal rate, but Wedge doesn’t want to jinx things by mentioning it at this point. 

“Oh, force. Did... did you use to have a ponytail?”

Wedge grins. “See, I knew you’d remember me!”

Bodhi arches one eyebrow, a hint of a smirk on his face. “Well, I remember your terrible pick-up line at least. How did it go...something like, do you have any Corellian in you?”

Wedge laughs.  “Well, would you like to?” 

Bodhi just shakes his head. “It’s still terrible. I can’t believe that was _you_ though.”

“Yeah, I was a little shit back then. The look you gave me though, that was something else. Just, bright red up to your ears and your mouth hanging open. Then you just sort of sputtered at me and walked away.”

Bodhi shoves at Wedge’s shoulder gently. “ You were just a _KID_! What was I supposed to say?”

Wedge chuckles. “Yeah, I looked you up after. To be fair, with your face shaved, you looked a lot younger.” Climbing back to his feet, Wedge offers a hand to Bodhi once more. “We’re both adults now, though. Should I try again?”

Bodhi takes the offered hand, pulling himself to his feet and wiping the dust from his pants. He smiles gently at Wedge, rubbing one hand across the back of his neck. “Listen... thanks for helping me, I don’t know, get out of my own head. I don’t know if you’re serious, but...” Bodhi straightens, a determined look crossing his face before he continues. “I- I need to get myself figured out first. Figure out where I _fit_ here. Figure out who I am, after Scarif, after - after _Jedha_. D’you know what I mean?”

Wedge reaches up to touch Bodhi’s arm for a second before drawing away. “I know - just, just don’t forget that people care about you here. This isn’t the Empire, we don’t discard people because they’re too much work. And seriously, just say the word. I’ll see how many terrible pick-up lines I can come up with in the meantime, okay?”

Bodhi smiles, looking up at Wedge through his eyelashes. “Okay.”

Wedge doesn’t mention how red Bodhi’s ears have gone, but he's pretty sure it's a good sign. "So, how do you feel about making a stop at the medbay? Then, maybe, breakfast?"

Life might be short, Wedge knows that from experience. He's not going to waste a second chance. 

 

 


End file.
